Vote no on ‘troubling’ zoning changes
Two zoning amendments — Mixed-Use Development and Joint Parking — could dramatically reshape our village centers.
At Town Meeting, Acton will consider two zoning amendments — Mixed-Use Development and Joint Parking — that could dramatically reshape our village centers.
The mixed-use bylaw is especially troubling. It allows multiple buildings on a single lot, first-floor residential behind minimal ghost storefronts, and by right expansion into areas like Elm Street and Nine Acre Corner, locations not appropriate for dense housing.
Only 30 feet of the first floor must be commercial; everything behind can be residential. There is no required percentage of commercial space, no guarantee housing remains integrated with businesses, and no limit on unit counts. Traditional village-scale mixed-use becomes hidden, campus-style residential blocks.
Even more concerning, developers can substitute off-site “publicly accessible open space” for required on-site open space. This means more pavement and density while counting Emerson Playground or Rideout Park as offsets. These parks are already heavily used and were never meant to mitigate private development.
Residential parking drops from two spaces per unit to 1.5, enabling more units, while joint parking lets developers offload parking onto already-full shared lots. Affordable-housing protections are weakened: Projects under 10 units require none, fractional units can be replaced with cash payments, and small luxury projects could include zero affordability.
Meanwhile, major planning efforts are underway. The Land Use Working Group is evaluating town-owned parcels; Ripley and Peabody School recommendations are pending; two 40B projects are approved (438 units); MBTA zoning enables nearly 1,200 units; and MCI redevelopment is beginning master planning and zoning for potentially up to 750 units. Combined, that’s a 32% increase in Acton’s housing.
Advancing sweeping zoning changes now is shortsighted. Acton deserves a coordinated, townwide plan before permanently altering our villages. Ensure that growth is responsible, sustainable, and preserves what makes Acton special.
Please vote no on Articles 34 and 36.
Carol Savoy
Belknap Street
